ABC and NBC on Thursday ignored a shocking new report from USA Today that the Obama administration has covered up the release of illegals involved with rapes and murders. Only CBS This Morning covered the story, managing a mere 20 seconds. Co-host Charlie Rose explained, "The White House told Congress that 2,200 people released from immigration jails last year had only minor criminal records, but records obtained show some of them face charges of kidnapping, sexual assault, and homicide." [MP3 audio here.]
Despite a combined six hours of air time, ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today avoided the controversy. One might argue that Wednesday's shooting in Canada is to blame for the lack of coverage. Except that GMA still devoted almost five minutes to "home improvement tips" from Beverly Hills 90210 star Jennie Garth. Today offered two and a half minutes for the show's hosts to discuss their favorite horror movies and play footage from Friday the 13th. (See screen shot below.) Clearly, time was available.
USA Today's Brad Heath reported on Thursday:
The records, obtained by USA TODAY, show immigration officials released some undocumented immigrants who had faced far more serious criminal charges, including people charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, drug trafficking and homicide.
...
The new records, including spreadsheets and hundreds of pages of e-mails, offer the most detailed information yet about the people ICE freed as it prepared for steep, across-the-government spending cuts in February 2013. They show that although two-thirds of the people who were freed had no criminal records, several had been arrested or convicted on charges more severe than the administration had disclosed.
...
A spreadsheet ICE officials prepared listing the detainees includes one person in Texas charged with aggravated kidnapping and sexually assaulting a child, as well as others charged with armed assaults or assaulting police officers. Another immigrant released from Miami had been charged with conspiracy to commit homicide. Two detainees from Boston had been charged with aggravated assault using a weapon. One in Denver had a sexual assault charge. The agency released the spreadsheet to USA TODAY under the Freedom of Information Act.
Though CBS This Morning's journalists should be given credit for actually covering the story, one is reminded of a comment by co-host Gayle King on August 4. Guest Mike Hogan from Vanity Fair recounted this remark from King on illegals: "I think Gayle [King] in the green room said, 'As long as they're not doing anything illegal, you know, let them live.'"
Perhaps violent illegals finally reach the bar set by liberal hosts like King?
A transcript of the October 23 CBS This Morning brief is below:
7:31
20 secondsCHARLIE ROSE: USA Today says Republican lawmakers accused the Obama administration of freeing dangerous illegal immigrants. The White House told Congress that 2,200 people released from immigration jails last year had only minor criminal records, but records obtained show some of them face charges of kidnapping, sexual assault, and homicide.
